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  His eyes drop down to my legs and I feel a heat pulsing between them.

  “But you’re all grown up now.”

  “Still adorable?” Shit. The words are out before I can stop them. Now, I’m kicking myself, wishing I wasn’t coming off like I’m desperately looking for a compliment.

  “No,” he says, shaking his head as he looks down at me with a sparkle in his brown eyes. “Adorable is not the word I’d use to describe you, Mandy.”

  “Clumsy?” I ask with a nervous smile. “Accident-prone?”

  He shakes his head as he steps forward and takes my hand. My heart is beating so hard I’m worried it’s going to vibrate out of my chest.

  “Sexy is a perfect word to describe you,” he says in a low rumbling voice. “Stunning. Breathtaking. Unexpected.”

  I swallow hard as I look up at him. He’s taller than me and wider by a lot. I still feel tiny next to him just like I did as a kid.

  “I scored that goal for you,” I whisper, feeling my voice shake. I’ve never been this open with my feelings before with a man. Not with Ethan, not with anyone. “I thought you’d kiss me if I did.”

  He steps even closer until our bodies are touching. My breasts glide against his hard chest and my nipples start aching. The warm musky smell of his cologne is filling my head, making my body melt.

  “You were right,” he whispers as he hovers his lips over mine. “You were just a little off on the timing.”

  His big arm wraps around my body and I suck in a breath when I feel his powerful hand flatten on my lower back. He presses me closer against him as he looks down at my mouth in awe.

  I tilt my head up and he kisses me hard. I grab onto the lapels of his jacket and hold him there as he thrusts his tongue into my mouth, claiming my mouth like he owns it now.

  I’ve been waiting for this moment for over a decade, for more than half of my life, and I’m not disappointed. I’m not underwhelmed. My legs weaken as we explore each other’s mouths. His tongue is so soft. It tastes so good.

  For such a strong, rough, dominant man, he kisses so gently with just the right amount of force to let me know that he’s in charge. His hand tightens on my back, pressing me into him until my breasts are pressed flat against his chest.

  I moan into his mouth when I feel his erection press against my thigh. It’s so hard and long. It’s the first time I’ve felt one and I wonder if they’re all this big. If they all feel this thick. It can’t be…

  “I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he says when we pull away. Our hands are still running up and down each other’s bodies. My palms are feeling the hard curves of his biceps as his hand slides over my ass.

  “I’ve been wanting it too,” I tell him as I step on my toes, urging him to kiss me again. He does.

  It’s more forceful this time, more passionate. He devours my mouth as we stumble backward and fall on the bed.

  I smile as I fall on top of him. His arms wrap around me as we kiss on the pile of coats.

  He rolls on top of me and kisses my neck, making me moan as his hard cock presses into my leg. I don’t want to stop. I want to go all the way with this man.

  I want him to be my first. I want him to claim my pussy like he’s claiming my mouth.

  “Oh, Ethan,” I gasp as he kisses the top of my chest. I grab his hand and put it on my breast. “Touch me…”

  He squeezes my breast and then slides his hand into my dress, cupping my bare breast as my pussy aches. My nipple hardens against his palm. My heart is pounding. There’s fire in my veins.

  He kisses me again as he massages and kneads my breast. I have to open my eyes as he kisses me. It’s the only way I can believe that it’s Ethan Hearst’s lips on mine.

  “You’re so amazing,” he whispers between kisses. “I can’t believe you’ve been in my life all this time and it took me this long to notice.”

  “Let’s make up for lost time,” I say as I slide my hand through his salt and pepper hair. I’ve always wanted to do that. I’ve written fan fiction about Ethan’s hair.

  He’s about to kiss me again when we hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

  “No,” we both gasp at the same time.

  “They’re Cubans,” Christine’s dad says. “Just don’t tell Judy or she’s going to ask how much I paid for them!” His deep booming laugh echoes up the hallway.

  If he’s getting cigars, he’s heading for his home office, which means he’s going to pass the door and see his brother with his hand in his daughter’s best friend’s dress.

  “Hide me!” I gasp.

  Ethan starts throwing coats on me until I’m covered. Someone’s leather jacket is over my head, but I can still hear them even if I can’t see a thing.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “Just making a phone call.”

  “Enough work! It’s a party! Come, I have some Cuban cigars and a nice bottle of scotch I’ve been waiting to crack open.”

  “I’d like to stay here and make the phone call. It’s really important.”

  I smile at hearing him call me really important. It’s part of a lie and not meant to be a compliment, but that’s how I’m going to take it.

  “I insist,” Christine’s dad says. “You’re coming!”

  I think he gets pulled out of the room because it goes silent. I wait a few minutes and then throw the coats off me.

  I’m not ready to get up yet. The warm heat of arousal is coursing through my body as I remember what his lips and hands felt like on me.

  This feels like a dream…

  I take a deep breath as I lie on the bed and stare at Christine’s ceiling, wondering what other miracles this Christmas has in store for me.

  Chapter Five

  Ethan

  Being this far from my girl is painful.

  She’s across the room, standing next to the Christmas tree with a cocktail in her hand. Every nerve ending in my body is rattling as I watch her. Every few seconds, she looks my way and then every time, she turns away shyly and blushes a little bit more.

  I don’t understand how she got her hooks in me so fast. It’s not just that red dress, it’s her. I’m captivated by her. Totally drawn to her in every way—mind, body, and soul. I want to run over to her like a kid running to their Christmas presents in the morning, but instead, I grit my teeth and keep my feet planted on the floor.

  Mandy is talking to her high school friends. I recognize some of them from back in the day when I’d go to Chrissy’s birthday or to her school events. A tall guy is there, inching his way over to her. I feel a low rumble in my throat as I watch him start talking to my girl.

  I recognize him. He used to be a tall lanky kid who dated the redheaded girl, but he’s filled out now. But not enough that I can’t still shove his head through a wall if he dares to touch her. She’s mine now. All mine.

  It’s like all those years of abstinence, of being alone because I couldn’t find the right girl, has culminated and come to a head. The insatiable need surging through me is unbearable. I don’t have one pure thought in my head as I look at my girl.

  The thought of kissing her again, of sliding my hand back into her dress where it belongs, of tying her to my bed and sinking my hard cock into her soft wet pussy is threatening to undo me.

  I’m just about to go over there and tell her how much I need her when Matt stands on the coffee table and starts clinking his glass to get everyone’s attention.

  Judy turns the music off with a knowing smile on her face.

  “Can I have everyone’s attention?” Matt shouts. Everyone turns to him.

  Chrissy’s face drops.

  He steps down and pulls out a little ring box as he walks up to her. “Christine,” he says as he drops to his knee. “You mean more to me than life itself.”

  Her hands fly up to her mouth, covering it as her wide eyes stare down at him in shock.

  “Will you make me the happiest man who’s ever lived and marry me?”

/>   “Yes!” she shouts. Matt jumps up and hugs her as everyone cheers.

  Mandy’s eyes meet mine over the cheering crowd and this time, she doesn’t look away.

  I wonder if she’s thinking what I’m thinking… That one day that will be us.

  My brother Steven comes out with a tray of champagne flutes, followed by Matt’s parents. They hand everyone a flute as they’re showered with congratulations and slaps on the back. It’s a nice festive moment and I smile when I see how happy Chrissy looks as she shows off her shiny new engagement ring to all the guests.

  They go around giving hugs as Steven gives a toast, congratulating the newly engaged couple and thanking everyone for coming.

  “I guess the next time we’ll all be together is at the wedding!” Everyone cheers and then downs their glass.

  The champagne is tickling my tongue as I try to find Mandy, but she’s gone from her spot beside the tree. My heart starts to beat erratically as panic sets in. I don’t like not knowing where she is.

  I start pushing my way through the crowd when Chrissy suddenly pops in front of me.

  “Uncle Ethan!”

  I wrap my arms around her and give her a hug, forgetting about Mandy for the moment. She’s my only niece and this is a huge moment for her (even if every impulse in my body is urging me to go find my girl).

  “Congratulations, kid,” I say as I squeeze her. “I’d offer to straighten your guy out if he ever does you wrong, but I know I’ll never have to with Matt. He’s a keeper. I’m so proud of you.”

  “Thank you, Uncle Ethan,” she says as she squeezes me back. She pulls away and looks up at me with a scrunched forehead. “I want this amazing feeling for you. How come you’re still single?”

  “I guess I haven’t found the right girl,” I lie.

  “Do you still have Grandma’s ring?”

  I nod. My mother gave it to me on her deathbed. Told me it belonged to the girl who could thaw my icy heart. I put it in the back of my top drawer when I got home and it’s been there ever since.

  “You sure you haven’t found the right girl?” she asks, giving me that suspicious look again.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask as I get the feeling we’re not on the same page.

  Her eyebrow raises as she grins at me. I stare back at her, playing dumb but she’s not buying it.

  “Oh, please,” she says with a huff of breath. “You two haven’t taken your eyes off each other all night. Plus, her lipstick is all smudged up.”

  I swallow as I watch her. Busted.

  “Just be gentle with her,” she says with a tilt of her head. “She has a tender heart. And she’s been in love with you since she was eight years old.”

  “But… she’s your friend. And I’m your uncle…”

  “You’ve always had her heart, Uncle Ethan. I’ve told her to move on so many times. I’ve fought it and warned her for years. I don’t want to fight it anymore. I truly believe that you’re the only one who will make her happy.”

  She steps on her toes and kisses my cheek, leaving me stunned.

  “You have my blessing if you need it. And Uncle Ethan?”

  “Yeah, kid?”

  She gives me a wink. “Show her a good Christmas. She needs it.”

  Chapter Six

  Mandy

  I lost Ethan.

  Not lost lost, not yet anyway, but I haven’t seen him in about five minutes.

  Rather than grapple with the urge to stalk him around the house like a crazed ex-girlfriend, I head into the kitchen to help out.

  “Mandy!” my father shouts from the table. Oh no. He pours a shot for him and one for my mother who’s sitting beside him. He pours most of it on the table. “Mandy! Mandy! Watch us take a shooter of Brandy!”

  They both giggle as they down them. I charge over.

  “You guys are drunk!” I whisper-scream at them.

  They look at each other and burst out laughing. “Guilty,” my mother says. “Don’t ground us.”

  My dad roars out laughing as I turn away from them with a roll of my eyes. How am I the responsible adult here already? I’m only twenty-one!

  “You’re driving,” my Dad hollers as I start gathering some empty bottles of wine and beer from the counter and toss them into the recycling bin.

  Everyone is having a good time and the music is blasting. Someone turned off the Christmas music a while ago and Uptown Funk is blaring from the living room. It’s packed in there with people dancing and having a great time. Most of these people are going to get hangovers for Christmas morning.

  I shiver as I step into the garage and squeeze past Mr. Hearst’s slick-looking mid-life crisis car. Mrs. Hearst said he was either going to get a car or a mistress, so she let him get the car. I don’t know what kind it is, but it looks like something John Wick would drive.

  Goosebumps rise all over my skin with the chilly air in here. I dump the empty bottles into the big blue bin and gasp when I turn around.

  Ethan is standing in front of the closed door with his hands in his pockets watching me with an intense gaze.

  I swallow hard as I stare back. My nipples harden, but I’m not sure if it’s from the cold air or from the hot guy.

  “What’s a beautiful girl like you doing in a place like this?” he says with a sexy grin. There’s a flutter in my chest as I watch him. I don’t know how all girls my age aren’t attracted to older guys. They’re so incredibly sexy. The guys my age at work and at school are so immature and act so childish at times. How could I possibly desire them when there are real men like Ethan Hearst in the world?

  He’s mature, sophisticated, cultured, smart, and unbelievably alluring. That smile… those eyes… I’m swooning over here as I take in that graying hair and those broad shoulders.

  He’s the most enticing creature I’ve ever seen.

  “I thought you were out with the boys,” I say after clearing my throat. “Cuban cigars was it?”

  “The engagement broke that little plan up,” he says as he walks down the two steps. “Steven was called to the kitchen to serve champagne flutes.”

  “Aww, too bad,” I say with a shy smile as he slowly approaches. “I kinda like the smell of cigars on a man.”

  “I’ll have to remember that,” he says as he slides his arms around my waist. His palms slide up my bare back and I wet my bottom lip as he pulls me against his hard body once again.

  The garage doesn’t feel so cold anymore. My body is warming up under that intense heated gaze.

  His hand reaches up and slides out the pins in my bun. “Goddamn,” he whispers under his breath as he watches my hair fall down, tumbling on my shoulders. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  He looks like he means it. I feel beautiful around him. He makes me feel like a woman. I always wanted him to look at me like this, but he never did. He looked at me like I was a child, because I was, but that’s all changed now.

  We’re finally equals and we can take this—whatever this is—to another place. We can finally start what I’ve been waiting years to start.

  “This night has felt like a dream,” he says in his soft sexy voice as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

  I smile, still not believing this is happening. Either I drank some tainted egg nog and am on the kitchen floor hallucinating right now or all my Christmas dreams have come true. I’m going to believe it’s the latter, although I’m not so sure.

  “It’s been a pretty good Christmas so far,” I whisper back as his big hand gently cups my jaw. His eyes drop from mine and he starts eyeing my lips as his shoulders raise.

  My heart races. I can’t breathe with his eyes on me like this. My breath is caught in my throat as the heat swirling in my core plunges between my legs.

  “It’s going to be a pretty good year too,” he says as he moves forward, his lips ghosting over mine. “Because I’m not letting you go. Ever.”

  My body ignites as he crushes his lips to mine, ki
ssing me with a wild passion that’s been building like an inferno in the ten minutes we’ve been apart.

  There’s no more soft gentle kisses. It’s hands in hair, gripping each other hard as he slams me into the refrigerator and devours my mouth in the most erotic way. It’s rough and messy, fueled by a lifetime of pent-up need and desire.

  I moan shamelessly as he kisses my neck and grabs my breast. I want him so badly. My body was made for him. I know it. Every time he touches me, I know it.

  I grab two fistfuls of his jacket and pull his mouth back to mine. He groans with lustful need as he kisses me again, knowing just what to do with me.

  I want to feel him deep inside me. I want him to have my virginity. I want him to take it. I want him to possess every inch of me. I want to be his. I want him to own me.

  His hand grips my inner thigh and I gasp as I flatten my back against the cold fridge. I can’t think straight as I feel his rough palm slowly slide up, under my dress, dangerously close to my throbbing pussy.

  Oh shit, I want this. It’s been so hard all these years to be around him and not have him touch me like this.

  I sink my hands into his hair and breathe out as he kisses my chest, that hand killing me as it inches up closer. He’s taking his time, teasing me, torturing me. I’m consumed with lust and need him on my sex.

  “Yes,” I gasp when I feel the edge of his finger brush over my aching mound. I wish I wasn’t wearing any panties. I wish it was skin on skin.

  He growls as he slides his finger along the elastic between my leg and pussy. I wonder if he can feel how wet it is.

  My chest is heaving up and down, the back of my head curled against the refrigerator as he dips his finger under the elastic and glides his fingertip over—

  “Shit,” he hisses under his breath when the door starts to open. We both dive behind the car and crouch down as someone walks into the garage.

  I’m aching all over. My heart is hammering. My pussy is on fire. This is torture.

  I peek through the window and see Christine’s cousin Randy come in. He looks around guiltily as he heads straight for the fridge.